Quest for the Whalesharks of Donsol- Me and the largest fish in the world!

During the weekend, I hopped on a bus headed for Donsol, Sorsogon-- the whaleshark capital of the world. Despite the fact that the trip was scheduled so close to the first day of classes and I really couldn't afford to tire myself out,I quickly decided that I had to go when I learned that the WWF was holding a trip there. So, without much ado, I found myself on the 13 hour bus ride to the southernmost tip of Luzon. In the company of journalists, professors, marine biologists, professional divers, photographers and even some lawyers, I knew I was about to have a great learning experience.

Immediatley upon getting there, the group coordinated with the local tourist office (ahem. for anyone intending to go visit the place, DO NOT forget to register with the office and get yourself briefed on how to interact with the animals. And believe me, the money you pay for registering really does help the various projects benefiting the area and the whalesharks.) From there, the group split into 5 teams, each tasked with gathering some info on the creatures that would be used for research. So, we got on our respective bangkas and sailed for the open waters.

15 minutes from leaving the shore, we encountered our first butanding, as they are locally called. This however quickly dived downward so we really didn't get to interact with it much. But still, this encounter left me very excited since it showed how plentiful the creatures were in the the area.

Wrong.

As it turns out, the peak season for butanding sightings in the ares is during March to April. By May, the giants (these are the biggest fishes in the world, mind you) migrate to different parts of the world. With this, after a whole morning and a whole afternoon scouring the seas for the creatures, we had to call it a day. On our way back to shore, our BIO (Butanding Interaction Officer. Cool huh?) suddenly shouted "Talon! Talon!" Like dutiful marines, we quickly jumped out of the speeding bangka and quickly swam for a large dark mass some 20 meters away from where the boat was cruising.

One thing that I didn't expect when I signed up for the trip was the fact that you really have to be a strong swimmer when it comes to interacting with a butanding. From my internet research and other readings, I thought that the experience would only involve minimal swimming and much, much more interacting. I even imagined myself swimming around the giants--like many pictures would have you believe. I'm not sure if we were just really poor swimmers or if the season just wasn't right for interacting with butandings, but most of us never even got close enough to even see the creature as it quickly swam away. For something bigger than my car, that sucker moved fast! So there we were, 15 kilometers from shore, panting from exhileration as well as exhaustion, floating in open waters and feeling very disappointed. To top it all off, I lost one of my fins during the mad scramble. I did try to dive for it when I felt my left leg paddling faster than my right, but I had to give it up when I felt my head about to pop. So there. 4K down the drain. Or should I say down the ocean. But I really couldn't do anything about it. Even one of my companions who happens to be an experienced diver from Hawaii was not able to rescue my lost fin. As scuba equipment is not allowed in the area, all I could do was commit it to the sea.

Undettered by the day's failure, our team vowed to return early the next morning. This time, we had more luck as the butandings were more likely to be feeding, thus they were in the surface longer. With the first sighting, we quickly hurled ourselves off the bangka and once more swam like crazy. But without any fins, I was quickly left behind. That time, most of the group caught up with the creature. Not me. For the second sighting, I was determined not to get left behind. Fortunately, one of my companions lent me his pair of fins(out of pity, maybe.By that time, I was feeling a little left out by all their cheers.) This time, when our BIO commanded us to jump, I was first to hit the water. Narrowly avoiding the katig, I made a mad dash for the shark. After several seconds, I thought that I was going the wrong way as I couldn't see anything but the darkeness of the water. And then, all of a sudden, there it was right below me: a massive polka dotted body. I had overshot myself over the butanding. It was definitely an awe inspiring vision as the creature graciously swam under me. At first, I was too shocked to take a picture with my camera as I even stopped paddling for a time. After getting my bearings, I got off two shots, but I'm quite sure that they'll really be crappy since theshark was already diving for the deep when I took them. I even forgot the specific instruction to take a snap of its dorsal portion for identification in the reasearch. But still, that was a once in a lifetime experience! That was awesome! And I am now kicking myself for not having enough guts to swim and dive after the creature.

That was the first and last time I got to swim with a butanding. The last time I saw one was on the way back to shore. This time, we all saw it coming, and our BIO wasn't even able to yell at us as the shark came rushing towards the boat! And this was huge! We didn't even get to jump off when it struck the bangka. It was great seeing the creature in its entirety without having to battle with the waves.

So there, three butandings in an hour and thrity minutes. At first I was skeptical when they told me that 60 sightings per day was normal for peak seasons, but with those three encounters during off peak season, I turned into a believer. Donsol definitely has a priceless treasure in the form of these gentle creatures. I won't be able to put into words on how wonderful it feels to interact with such great creatures so I guess the only way to understand how I feel is for you to go there yourself. But when you do, don't forget to support the WWF's as well as the local government's conservation efforts, though.

Of course, I also did other things in the South. Went on a visit to the Cagsawa ruins( wehre I was able to get two new knives for my collection!) and sampled a majestic view of Mayon, traversed the Ugod river and beheld an unforgettable sight of thousands and thousands of fireflies lighting the way, but nothing compares to the whaleshark experience in Donsol.

So now, as I have yet to develop the pictures in my underwater camera, here are some pics I took with my digital camera. Just proves to show what a beautiful and extraordinary place Donsol is.



The Donsol waters- peaceful yet exciting




Something out of a LOTR movie